Presidential flip: Trump’s boyhood home sold again

It’s a deal that would make the president proud: A New York investor made a $750,000 profit on Donald Trump’s childhood home, flipping it for a 54 percent premium in a matter of weeks.

Real estate investor Michael Davis bought the five-bedroom, Tudor-style home in Queens for $1.39 million, sight unseen, right before the election. The transaction closed in mid-December. And although Davis lives in Manhattan, he never made it over to Jamaica Estates to see his prize. He also resisted any temptation to gut, say, the kitchen and improve the property. Still, weeks later, he decided it was ready to flip.

Donald Trump's childhood home, a five-bedroom Tudor-style house in Queens, sold last week for $2.14 million. MUST CREDIT: Courtesy of Paramount Realty USA.

The childhood home of President Trump in January when it was up for auction. Located in Queens, New York, the home's address is listed on his birth certificate. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

And he was right. He put it up for auction and a buyer came through with a $2.14 million cash offer.

“We bought this with the expectation that Donald Trump would win the election – that was the gamble,” Davis said. “After he won, we didn’t hold it very long.” The house now belongs to Trump Birth House LLC. The buyer, whose identity has not been made public, was represented by Michael X. Tang, an attorney who specializes in helping Chinese investors buy real estate.

It was not immediately clear how the new owners planned to use the home, but they have talked about possibly turning it into a library or a museum, according to Misha Haghani, owner of Paramount Realty USA, the New York auction house that facilitated the sale.

“The value of this property has nothing to do with the physical house,” Haghani said. “Normally people buy real estate because of its location. In this case, frankly, location has very little to do with the value of the property. Size of the house, size of the lot, number of bedrooms and baths – these things are all irrelevant. Somebody bought this because of what it’s associated with, and that’s the current president.”

President Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump, built the home in 1940. According to the auction brochure, the home has “an old world charm interior featuring arched doorways, hardwood floors and more.” Its address, 85-15 Wareham Place, is listed on Trump’s birth certificate.

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